High Court dismisses petition against KDF boss Francis Ogolla over 2022 election interference
Blow to former IEBC commissioner Irene Masit after High Court declined a petition to have KDF boss Francis Ogolla enjoined in the alleged election interference case
Blow to former IEBC commissioner Irene Masit after High Court declined a petition to have KDF boss Francis Ogolla enjoined in the alleged election interference case.
Judge Lawrence Nthiga Mugambi of the High Court on Friday rejected a petition accusing General Francis Ogolla, the Chief of Defense Forces, and three other people of attempting to influence the results of the 2022 presidential election.
In a petition filed by Irene Masit, the former Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) commissioner, the military boss, and two others were accused of visiting the commissioners at Bomas before the announcement of the results on August 9, 2022.
“It is stated that this delegation exerted pressure on the commissioners to change the outcome of the Presidential election,” reads part of the court documents.
Masit sought to have Ogolla and the two enjoined in this suit as interested parties. She emphasized that including these individuals in the suit is crucial for them to clarify the allegations.
In the petition, Justice Aggrey Muchelule’s tribunal was listed as the 1st respondent while the Attorney General was the second.
In response to the allegations, the tribunal argued that including the three served no purpose in the determination of the issues raised in the initial petition.
“The application is an ill attempt to impugn the legal appointments of the intended interested parties to their respective positions,” read part of the court documents.
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However, the High Court judge dismissed the petition adding that Masit failed to prove that the alleged coercion was made by Ogolla or any of the two officials.
Justice Nthiga ruled that if the three were enjoined in the suit, it would be engaging the court in unproductive and speculative action.
“In any case, the application in itself does not in the remotest sense meet the test of joinder. The Petitioner has not demonstrated how the orders she is seeking will affect the three named persons and hence the need to join them as interested parties in this Petition,” the judge ruled.
Masit is among the four IEBC commissioners who disputed the results announced by the former IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati.
Chebukati declared William Ruto as Kenya’s fifth president after fending off fierce competition from his competitor Raila Odinga.
The four commissioners, who later quit, left Bomas as the announcement was being made and held a separate press briefing led by Juliana Cherera. Others were Justus Nyang’aya and Francis Wanderi.
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